Session 57 - How The Hell Did They Survive This?
In-game timeline: DR1489 Uktar 3 - Uktar 3
Our "Heroes" are in trouble. Big trouble.
Having chased rat-creatures down to a lower level, failing to catch them, and then ensuring that everyone knew they were there by slamming a metal grate loudly down whilst trying to lift it, the party prepare for an attack, hiding as best they can behind the furniture.
And then the enemies arrive.
A creature - humanoid in vague description, but with a body that is somewhat twisted and very much abused, looking at the chains and hooks that pierce his body - easily pushes up the grating and emerges from below. He does not immediately rush out and attack, so Carro holds off his prepared bow, but TC and Mahtis do loose their prepared actions.
At almost the same time, the large wooden doors open and a large and ferocious looking werewolf quickly emerges from the open door. This one runs out towards the closest "Hero", who happens to be Mahtis, which allows Carro to fire his arrow, as this creature is definitely running forward to attack. Luckily Carro is using his silvered arrows, so the attack does do some useful damage.
Behind the werewolf, who they correctly surmise to be Redback, they spot Charlotta the gnome, and the two wererats they were previously chasing.
What follows should have been an exercise in how to run a Total Party Kill, given how outmatched the group are. However, somehow, our Heroes manage to come out of the battle alive, though they do fall in battle - numerous times. Whether this survival is due to luck or skill is something that is purely subjective.
Charlotta, in a display of perhaps over-confidence, decides to leave the fighting to the others. Carro focuses on Redback, Mahtis decides to try to Hold Person on Charlotta, which succeeds!
TC, still bearing a grudge towards all gnomes, it seems, decides to Misty Step over to a paralysed Charlotta, avoiding Deggmir, the strange creature wielding chains, who has come over to face the paladin. TC strikes Charlotta while she lay on the floor, using Lucky to help ensure a critical hit, and boosts his attacks with paladinic Smites to cause significant damage to her. He was hoping she would call off her creatures, but TC didn't realise that she was unable to speak due to the paralysis. Showing no mercy, he slaughters her before she can even respond, decapitating her.
This action seems to rile Redback even further, and he ignores Mahtis and leaps over to TC and starts to lay into him. Mahtis moves forward to help out her friend and give him some healing as he is set upon by three were-creatures.
Deggmir runs over to the nearest enemy he can see, which happens to be Carro, and hooks his chains into the elf. Redback and the rats attack TC, one of the rats managing to sink its teeth into the paladin and TC becomes somewhat worried as he senses the Curse of lycanthropy flowing into his bloodstream.
After taking some more chinks out of the werewolf, Redback comes back against TC with some vicious attacks and TC falls to the ground, unconscious. Redback does not look like he is going to stop despite TCs unconscious state, which does not look promising for the paladin!
Mahtis decides he needs to bring TC back up before Redback gets a chance to finish him off. TC wakes up and does some damage to Redback, almost bringing him down, but the werewolf is still alive enough to take TC back down again, and he then claws TC's unconscious body, bringing him very, very close to death.
Carro uses the healing spell within the ring he is holding to bring TC back up before he dies, and then focusses on attacking Deggmir, who is busy swiping the elf with his chains.
TC, having been up and down like a yo-yo, wildly slashes Redback with trusty Dragonsboon and takes the imposing werewolf down!
One of the wererats takes a shot at Mahtis, dropping the druid unconscious and then runs for the exit. The other rat tries to hit TC but misses his attack and then he also runs for the door, but TC is able to bring him down as the rat runs away.
Carro brings Mahtis up with his last healing spell from the ring, allowing the druid to recover a little, but then Carro is brought down by another chain attack from Deggmir.
As the escaping rat runs away from the group, the others focus on trying to help out a downed Carro, and to take down Deggmir. Mahtis tries to jump across the table to reach the unconscious elf, but it takes her a couple of goes to reach him. He does manage to administer a potion before the elf finally expires, ensuring the ranger is revived to a decent level of health by using a potion of greater healing. Carro is immediately hit again with a chain and is once again taken grappled.
Forgetting that TC is very, very exhausted, he runs on adrenaline only to leap over a chair and reach Deggmir and attack him with Dragonsboon. Unfortunately this is not enough to take him down, and Deggmir gets another chain on Carro, dropping the elf once more. However, TC gets another chance, and makes good use of it, finally taking Deggmir down with a last swish!
And so we leave our Heroes, very exhausted but very, very surprisingly alive.